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Lesson 3.2 Power BI

The IoT platform's Power BI Custom Connector brings your device data straight into Power BI Desktop for advanced analysis and reporting - asset overviews, energy KPIs, billing reports, and more. In this lesson you'll install the connector, pull in some data, and build a first chart.

The full reference is the Power BI user guide; this lesson is the hands-on walkthrough.

Example Power BI reports

Before you start​

  • Power BI Desktop on Windows (Power BI isn't supported on Mac/Linux), and local admin on the machine.
  • An IoT platform account with some devices reporting data.
  • The IoT platform's Power BI connector download (see the user guide's Downloads).

Exercise 1 - Install the connector​

  1. Extract the connector zip - it contains YggioConnector.pqx and Yggio_regkey.reg.
  2. Put YggioConnector.pqx in Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors (create the folder if needed).
  3. Double-click Yggio_regkey.reg and accept - this trusts the connector.
  4. Restart Power BI Desktop, then check Get Data → More… and search Yggio to confirm it's there.

Exercise 2 - Connect and pull data​

  1. Get Data → Yggio → Connect.
  2. Enter your IoT platform server URL and sign in (username + password, or an API key token).
  3. Choose the Chart query. Pick a few devices and up to 4 measurements (e.g. temperature), and click Apply to preview.
  4. Set Time period (e.g. last 7 days), Resolution (e.g. every hour) and Value function (e.g. mean), then tick the query and click Load.

Exercise 3 - Build a chart​

  1. In the report view, change the time column's type from datetime to time - this is the most common thing people miss (Power BI groups the data otherwise).
  2. Add a Line chart; drag the time column to the axis and your measurement to values.
  3. Try a Bar/Column chart grouped by day for a per-day view.

Exercise 4 - A useful report (stretch)​

  • Billing / IMD report: in the Chart query use Time period = last 3 months, Resolution = every day, Extra date columns = true, Value function = difference, then sum the daily deltas per month.
  • Energy-efficiency KPI: use the ChartEnergy query with your energy, outdoor-temperature, indoor-temperature series and the building area. This is the same formula as the analytics-building-energy-efficiency translator - use that translator instead if you want the KPI computed inside the platform rather than only in Power BI.

What you learned​

  • How to install and trust the IoT platform's Power BI connector.
  • How to connect, choose a query, and pull device/time-series data.
  • The datetime → time gotcha, and how to build charts and a billing/KPI report.

Where next​

  • Power BI user guide - the full function reference (Chart, ChartEnergy, IotNodes, Overview, …), resolution/value-function detail, scheduled refresh via a gateway, and troubleshooting.
  • Next lesson: Node-RED.